We are returning to St. Croix for our 6th annual trip in February. Just checking to hear about any new restaurants, changes, recommendations. Our current favorites are Duggan's Reef, Kendricks and Rumrunners. Weren't that excited about the new Tutto Bene last year and are sad that Indies is gone (although it had really deteriorated over the years).

Any thoughts? We stay at the Buccaneer and usually take advantage of their taxi service but may rent a car for a few days so that we can go horseback riding.

I am going to piggyback on this question since I was going to post the same one in a couple of weeks. We are staying at the Buccaneer in March and will probably be able to have one "adults-only" dinner and would love to hear people's recommendations for that, as well as your other suggestions.

Thanks!

Mary in D.C.

Check out the Bombay Club on King Street.Neat atmosphere and the food was good.

anybody?

Cafe Madeline atop Teauge Bay (east end) is exquisite. On a clear night you can see the lights of St. Thomas 40 miles to the north. Located at Villa Madeline, it has graced the cover of Architectural Digest some years ago. Kendrick's in C'sted is also a very nice restaurant and has been in business for over 15 years which is a long time in the islands.

We were in St. Croix in October and had great meals at the Cultured Pelican, Duggan's, and Sunset Grill. Rumrunners was good also. We also went to the Pirates buffet at the Carambola which offered unlimited crab legs and a wonderful buffet. Although it is a long drive, the Carambola is so unique and beautiful that we very much enjoyed it. We went to the Tues. buffet at Hotel on the Cay which was completely disorganized although the food was good. No one knew who was selling tickets or where to get them, including the staff. We also had a great lunch at the Buc; a cubano sandwich. Enjoy!

Thanks, Nan. Can you tell me about the Sunset Grill? WE've never been there. Where is it near?

Villa Madelaine is now closed. Was sold to someone turning it into a home!
Another good one is BAcchus. Tuttu Benne is may favorite. What was wrong with it?
Ronnie

The Sunset Grill is on the north coast about 3 miles past Fredrikstad. It is open air and sits right above the beach. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we arrived but I am sure the sunset would be amazing from there. The food was excellent. Great snapper and other seafood dishes as well as other interesting items. The service was also excellent. They offered to cook a special dish for my father.

Savant in Christiansted has great food. Sandcastles on the Beach (hotel in Frederiksted) reportedly has wonderful meals. I also really enjoyed H20 at Hibiscus Beach (in addition to all the other places mentioned). The beauty of St. Croix is that you can eat in a fine restaurant every day for at least a week and still not exhaust all of your options.

Sorry to have taken so long to say thanks, again, for the suggestions and to answer Ron's question about Tutto Bene.

It may have been that Tutto Bene was just 'overhyped' to us by other people so we were disappointed. And we ate there on Valentine's night and had just gotten off the plane with a sick child...so perhaps we should give it another try! There are so many places with great atmosphere on St. Croix that Tutto Bene's didn't do it for us and we thought it was loud. Others who went the week we were there thought the same thing. Maybe it was an off week.

Ditto on the Carambola's Friday Night Pirate's Buffet - just be sure to have a reservation. Kendrick's is a great place but we felt we weren't treated very well - we showed up without a reservation and were told there was no room in the courtyard yet when we left, one hour later, there were still plenty of seats. So, make a reservation there too. WOuld like to try Duggan's - it looks nice. Try to Carambola Golf Resort for breakfast or lunch (they don't do dinner). And rent a car!! It's a great island to explore.